Fastener for doors



' C. HINDS I Filed Feb. 3. 1948- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

H/NDS) A TTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 25. 1950 EA$TENE L IQQR .Gyril Hinds, NemOrleans, La. .enr'is ii nf me 3, 1 9- .59

Thisinvention-relates to fasteners for doors. Anxobject' oftheinvention'is the provisionof a fastener-which may be employed forsecuring the doors of an automobile againfst unauthorized oraccidentalopening when driving alonga highway to prevent any of theoccupants of the vehicle, particularly chil dren, from fallingfrom theautomobile, said fastener' including spring-actuated gripping meansadapted-to engage adj acently disposed portions oif- -a'pair of doors'at one sideof the vehicle to prevent opening of either door. Saiddevice also being-employed to retain a door shut-when the look or theh'andle operatingmechanism has'b'een' broken. A further object of- -theinvention is the provision of a simply constructed-and efiicientfastener which'lmay be readily applied to or removed from a pair ofdoors of -'an' -automobilefor "pre- .venting I accidental *orunauthorized opening of said doors, said device including-av pair ofmovable elements with a door gripping means depending from eachelementmand a.coilspring disposed in a housing formed "integrally withone of the elements forrestraining imovement of the elements and thegripping means relative 'to eachother and for retaining .the,g ;1;ippingmeanson adjacent portionsofthe frames of a pair of automobiledoors-toretain the doors closed.

lThe invention consists inthenovel construction, arrangement andcombinations Ioi parts hereinafter""more particularly described andclaimed.

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 is a plan view of my door fastener.

Figure 2 is an end view of the fastener.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the fastener.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 44 ofFigure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section of a pair of automobiledoors showing a modified form of the fastener applied thereto.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary inside view in elevation of a pair ofautomobile doors connected together by the modified form of thefastener. I

Figure '7 is a fragmentary outside view in elevation of a pair ofautomobile doors showing the fastener applied to the exterior portionsof the doors.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, l0 designates an elongatedhousing which is rectangular in cross section as shown in Figure 4. Saidhousing is stamped from a blank which had been out previously from asheet of metal of sufiicient thickness to provide the necessary rigidityand strength for the purpose. In view 2' Claims. (C1329 2- 288 ofthefaot that the; device must be in a-horizontal plane ff-cr practicaloperation, the portion -l l of t-he'housing will be defined-as themainor front wallfrom which-extends in'i'ntegral formation a topwa-lll2- an'd a 'bot-tom'wall 13 parallel to the top wall. The freeends o-rflanges on the topand bottom-walls arebeiit-inwardly 'at right anglestowards each other, "as shown respectively at M and is to form'arearwa-ll. The front wall ii is longer than---the-wa1ls l2 -andl'3 toprovide a closure is at one end of-=the housing. This closure or endwallis bent 'at right angles to the wa-ll i i.

An arm I 1 extends substantially at: right angles from the otherendof+the=front'wall ll past the adjacentendof the rear wall an'd isformed integ'rally With-said frontwall. -A gripping jaw 18 having areduced free-edgei9 is disposedat right angles to the arm iithe end ofthe latter being: r'iemotetrom said} front wall and is integraltherewith. said arm w here joined tothe wall I l', forms. a closure-forthe; adjacent-end of the housingolil. r A slidei-zojl-islocated'iinthe-housing I0 and is adapted .to bessreciprocated on therear wall formed by the inturned flanges 1M and I5 which li'e in :thesame plane. One end of the slide is bent .upwardlyat 21 lo provide anend wall adjacent the .inner end of the arm H. The slide passes througha slot or space between the free end of the member I6 and the flanges l4and I5. An arm 22 integral with the slide 20 extends perpendicularlyfrom the end of the slide remote from the arm I! in the same directionrelative to the housing ID as that in which the arm I! extends.

A gripping jaw 23 is right-angularly positioned on the free end of thearm 22 and projects towards the jaw l8. The jaws l8 and 23 are in thesame plane. The jaw 23 has a reduced free edge 24.

A compression spring 25 is disposed in the housing and encompassed bythe slide 20 and the walls ll, l2 and I3. One end of the spring abutsthe member H on the slide while the other end bears against the member[6 of the housing. Thus, the spring will, at all times, resistdisplacement of the arms I! and 22 and will return said arms to thenormal inoperative positions shown in Figure 3, after displacement andrelease.

In constructing the fastening device, the walls l2, l3 and the arm I!are bent at right angles to the wall II as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Theflanges l4 and I5 are likewise bent inwardly to provide an elongatedchamber. The slide 2|] is inserted into said chamber with the flange 2|being moved to the inner extreme end of said chamber. The coil spring 25is placed in the chamber after which the flange or closure I6 is pressedinto place against the outer end of the spring. The fastener is nowready for application to a pair of automobile doors.

' In Figure is illustrated a slightly modified form of the attachingdevice shown applied to a pair Of automobile doors 30 and 3|. In thiscase, the arm 22a is longer than the arm 11a and is provided with anangular bent portion 32 for placing the gripping jaw [8 in alignmentwith the jaw 23 on the arm Ila since the arm 22a is in a.

plane parallel to the side wall ll of the housing Ill. The arm Ila isbent at an acute angle to the wall I I of the housing.

In application, either jaw l8 or 23 may be placed in engagement with theusual felt carried by a side portion of an automobile door while thehousing spans the post 40. The arm having the free jaw is drawn awayfrom the other arm until the free jaw clears the adjacent upright of theother door. The free jaw is moved inwardly for engagement with the felton the second door and the arm is released. The doors will be heldagainst accidental or unauthorized opening by the fastener. Aninspection of Figures 6 and 7 will show that the fastener may be appliedinteriorly or exteriorly of the doors.

It is to be borne in mind that either arm l! or 22 may be drawnoutwardly against the tension of the compression spring 25 when one ofthe respective jaws IE or 23 has been placed in engagement with anelement of a door. The fact that either arm may be moved relatively tothe other provides for ready application of the fastener since it isunnecessary to set a particular jaw in a fixed position.

When the lock or latching mechanism of a door has become inoperative,the fastener may be installed on the inside of a pair of doors,including the one having the inoperative locking mechanism to preventunauthorized entry of the automobile. The other door is locked forcooperation with the fastener.

The fastener is employed particularly for preventing deliberate oraccidental opening of the doors of an automobile when children arecarried therein. When the automobile is traveling along a roadway and adoor is opened the rush of the wind will thrust the door rearwardly andthrow the individual grasping the door handle into the roadway. With thefastener applied as shown, the handle may be operated without danger.

What is claimed is:

1. A fastener for a pair of automobile doors comprising a housing havingone end closed, said closed end having a slot, a slide in the housingand movable in the slot, an arm projecting angularly from the outer endof the slide, said slide having a right angular flange at the inner end,a compression spring between the flange and the closed end of thehousing, an arm projecting angularly from the housing in spaced relationwith the first-mentioned arm, and a door-gripping means on each free endof the arms, said gripping means facing each other and disposedsubstantially in the same plane.

2. A resilient fastener comprising an elongated housing having at oneend an arm extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom and aslotted end wall at its opposite end, a slide extending through said endwall into said housing, an arm integral with the end of said slideoutside of said housing and extending substantially at right angles fromsaid slide in the same direction relative to said housing as that inwhich said first mentioned arm extends, a flange on the other end ofsaid slide disposed substantially at right angles to the latter, acompression spring in said housing having its opposite ends respectivelyabutting the flange on said slide and said housing end wall toresiliently urge said slide inwardly of said housing and said armstoward each other, and respective gripping jaws on the distal ends ofsaid arms, said jaws being disposed substantially at right angles tosaid arms and facing each other.

CYRIL HINDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 977,765 White Dec. 6, 19102,010,317 Olson Aug. 6, 1935 2,396,479 Votaw Mar. 12, 1946

